Broadside concerning the proceedings of the Circuit Court of Justiciary, Glasgow

Commentary

This court report begins: 'An account of the proceedings of the Circuit Court of Justiciary, which opened at Glasgow on Tuesday last, when / JAMES DOLLAN / was sentenced to be Executed on the 7th of June next, for a daring Robbery on the Old Bridge of Glasgow.' It was published by John Muir of Glasgow.

John Muir was a prolific court proceedings publisher in Glasgow who was often involved in stiff competition with other Glasgow publishers. These later reports, however, have a much sleeker, almost list-like appearance. The only prose on this sheet concerns the transgressor in the headlines, James Dollan. The other cases heard are named and their verdicts given.

Reports recounting dark and salacious deeds were popular with the public, and, like today's sensationalist tabloids, sold in large numbers. Crimes could generate sequences of sheets covering descriptive accounts, court proceedings, last words, lamentations and executions as they occurred. As competition was fierce, immediacy was paramount, and these occasions provided an opportunity for printers and patterers to maximise sales.